Dreams Within
by RvnsDsks
Summary: What if there are more to the projections than what we're shown? What happens when ideas go rogue? This fic is a bit of a character study that explores the things I noticed when watching the film for the first time. Full Summary inside! Rated T for violence/action, and later content. Can only list 4 characters but will include everyone. *Discontinued/On Hiatus*
1. shadows on the wall

**Ok, so I know I probably shouldn't be starting another fic with all the others I'm working on, but I just rewatched the movie and I couldn't let this go.**

 ***Full Summary:**

 **A Mal/Ariadne fic, but not the way you're thinking.**

 **Ariadne thought she understood everything she needed to know about the lovely force of nature that was Mallorie Cobb, but after Inception, she realized there were a lot of things she didn't know after all. When complications with the Shade and her Projections begin to grow dire, Ariadne and the team are forced to reexamine their experiences in the dreams, and face demons they would have much rather liked to keep buried.***

 **I know this is probably not original, but bear with me! Also, I'm no psychologist by any means, but a good writer is also a good researcher, and I will have elements from dream studies and psychology in this story. (How could I not, right?)**

 **Sorry this chapter is so short, I just wanted to set everything up.**

 **Anyway, hope you guys enjoy! Let me know what you think in the reviews!**

 **\- Raven**

* * *

The first time Ariadne notices her is on her way home from University. It was a week or so after the Saito case; but really, it could have been months or years. She had been having trouble keeping track. She set alarms on her phone constantly, to go off every few hours to remind her to check. She would look at her watch, count the seconds as they ticked, breathe, and slip a hand into her jacket pocket; subtly, so no one else would notice. Her fingers would touch the cool metal piece residing there, and she would relax, open her eyes, able to continue on with whatever she had been doing.

Her latest alarm had just gone off, but as she drew her watch close to her face, something reflected off the glass face. She froze, and her breath caught in her throat, a tremor overtaking her body. Her left hand slid slowly down her side, inching towards her pocket, but a set of slender fingers gripped her wrist, stopping her motion and turning her insides to jelly.

"Now now, love," the voice purred in her ear. "No need for anything rash."

 _No._

"This isn't possible," she said, surprised and grateful that her voice was steadier than she thought it would be.

"Isn't it?" The lips brushed her ear, so close she shivered, and the fingers tightened around her wrist, foiling her attempt to reach her pocket. "Why is that?"

"Because you're gone. We've moved on; you're not even a Projection anymore."

"That's right," the voice cooed, and Ariadne drew a sharp, shaky breath. "I'm not a Projection. I'm a _Shade_."

The word was hissed from everywhere and nowhere at once, and the cold, pale fingers began tracing small circles on the inside of her wrist.

"Please," she stammered, blinking hard and cursing her body for betraying her fear. "Please…stop that."

"Am I making you nervous?" She laughed softly, and Ariadne shivered again, a little harder than before.

"Why are you here?" she asked, deciding for the sake of sanity not to ask _how._ She could figure that out later, preferably from the shelter of a padded room.

"Come now, you should know that. It was part of your lessons, wasn't it?" She was pouting. Ariadne could feel it- _hear_ it in the mocking lilt of her voice.

She tried to think, to remember what Dom and Arthur had told her about the dream world, and specifically what Dom had told her about Projections. She couldn't remember who had made mention of a Shade, but she knew from her studies of mythology that Shades were the spirits of those who haunted the Underworld. They were mere flickers of the real person they represented, almost like a shadow on the wall. But none of that helped her now, and she wished she could just reach….

"There's no point in that," She said flippantly, as though hearing Ariadne's thoughts. "It won't help you anyway. Not here. Not now."

"Why?" Her words were quick, fear sinking even further in. "Where are we?"

Silence met her question, but she knew S _he_ was smiling behind her, in the same way she knew it wasn't Kansas-anymore-Toto.

"What do you want from me?" she demanded, and a full laugh responded this time, dark amusement twisting like a knife in her gut. She regretted the metaphor instantly, but had no time to regret any further.

"From you?" The voice was distant, the pressure of her fingers diminishing. "Nothing. Nothing _at all._ "

* * *

It's only after she gets home and locks herself in her room that Ariadne realizes she doesn't know how she got there. And only after that does she realize her alarm never went off, and that her totem, the one piece holding her together, was gone.

* * *

"She'll notice, won't she?" The voice was quiet, nervous in the presence of the figure before it.

"Of course she will." The woman smiled, fiddling with the piece a moment more before sliding it across the board. "It's only a matter of time."

 _Your move, darling._


	2. the not so great gatsby

**Hey guys! Thanks for the interest in this story. I was afraid when I posted that it wouldn't get many hits since (unfortunately) it didn't seem Inception was as popular in comparison to other genres/fics. But I'm glad to see that's not the case!**

 **This chapter is a bit longer for you, and is a bit more lighthearted and fluffy. I tried to capture the characters as best as I could, but do please feel free to give notes or tell me if you think anyone is OOC.**

 **Hope you guys enjoy, and don't forget to review!**

 **\- Raven**

 **P.S. I don't own Inception, I'm not that awesome.**

* * *

"Ok, I know I can't be the only thinking how painfully ironic this is, right?" Ariadne looked across the aisle, and Eames frowned, raising an eyebrow, while Arthur smiled helplessly beside him, shaking his head. She sighed, her hand reaching down to her pocket for the tenth time that afternoon, and for the tenth time, she jerked it away before it came close, knowing it wouldn't be there. The car lurched as it hit a bump in the tracks, and the hand beside her clenched tightly around the handle of the arm rest before relaxing. Ok, so _he_ noticed it, but she was pretty sure that was a given.

 _You're waiting for a train…_

"Seriously, Arthur," she continued, if only to keep the conversation going and out of her thoughts. "You didn't see anything wrong with this?" She motioned to the walls around them, and he smiled again, a bit more genuinely this time.

"I thought it would be funny; a bit of déjà vu since the whole inception thing started with Saito on a train."

"Ha. Aha-ha. Ha." Dom deadpanned beside her, flashing Arthur a non-impressed look.

Ariadne snorted, and his mouth flickered upwards a bit, his blue eyes softening as he looked at her.

"How are you holding up, kid?" he asked, the warmth coming through in his tone. "You know, in the real world."

"I'm doing well, all things considered," she answered, nodding her head. "I mean, I haven't started looking for psychiatrists yet so I'd say I'm on the right track."

He laughed, a real one this time, and the rest of the group joined him, chuckling in amusement. It felt good to have everyone back together again, even if it was for this short time.

 _'_ _Promise we'll stay in touch.'_

It had been her idea, to have lunch once a week. She wasn't about to let any of them get away from her so easily, not after all that. Too often relationships had ended due to simple lack of communication, and she didn't want to see that happen to them. And if it also served to reassure her that they really did exist, then who was she to complain?

"Are you going to tell us where we're eating this time, Arthur?" Eames asked. "Or are you gonna be all clever and make us figure it out ourselves?"

"Well I was going to tell you, but because of that…" he trailed off with a smug smile, while Eames cursed and Dom and Ariadne groaned at him.

"Great," Dom muttered. "We could be going to some greasy taco shack for all we know."

"Have faith, guys," Arthur protested, adjusting his shirt collar. "I'm a bit classier than that."

"We wouldn't be dressed like this if you weren't," Eames sniped, and Arthur glared at him, but didn't bother to rise to the jibe.

Instead he turned back to Ariadne, leaning out into the aisle, then tucking back in when a hostess walked by.

"So, Ariadne. How have you been? I mean, I know it's only been, what…two weeks? But still."

"Fine, really," she answered, smiling at him. "I've still been studying, trying to find some other jobs and things like that. Things settled down surprisingly quickly."

Or at least, things had been settling, until she'd been ambushed by a ghost.

"Ok, it's driving me nuts," Eames suddenly blurted, sitting up in his chair. "What is this 'thing' you keep doing?"

He mimed her actions, reaching for his own pocket before pulling his hand away. She stiffened as everyone's attention was drawn to her, and she had to fight hard against the urge to run.

"It's nothing," she said, swallowing hard against the lie. "Nervous habit, that's all."

"You've got nothing to be nervous about," Arthur assured, his voice light but his eyes intense as he stared at her. "I'm not taking us anyplace too shady."

"No, you're right," she stammered, trying for a laugh. "It's nothing to worry about, really."

 _Shady._

'I'm not a Projection. I'm a _Shade._ '

She knew that was significant somehow, but before she could contemplate it, the train squealed as it came to a sudden stop, the cars lurching forward and sending them all sprawling. Ariadne winced as her head slammed against the seat in front of her, and glanced around to see if the others were ok. Eames was already on his feet, and Arthur had been flung into the aisle, but looked no worse for wear, his hair still slicked back smoothly and his dress shirt only slightly untucked on one side. Dom helped guide her out into the aisle, and she flashed him a grateful smile before turning to Arthur, but Eames beat her to it.

"You think you could ease up on the dramatics a bit, mate? Almost killed us all…again!"

"It wasn't me," Arthur protested, readjusting his shirt and scanning their faces. "I swear, I didn't do it." His gaze fixed on Cobb's, who shook his head, raising his hands in an innocent pose.

"I've moved past that phase, Art. Trains are no longer my thing."

 _"_ _No, but they are still mine."_ Her voice whispered in her ear, and Ariadne paled, taking a step back to balance herself before she fell. Her eyes went to the front of the train, where the hostess stood smiling softly at her, a dark gleam in her shadowed eyes.

"Ariadne?"

She blinked, and the hostess was gone, her cap falling off her head as she slipped out the door. A laugh and an image of short auburn curls blowing in the wind was all that Ariadne was left with, along with three pairs of concerned male eyes staring at her. She blushed and stammered out some excuse before adopting another smile, and if it was a little more forced than necessary, no one seemed to notice.

 _"_ _I noticed."_

Ariadne tensed but ignored the voice, and followed the rest of her team-no, friends, this wasn't a professional job or anything-out of the train and towards whatever new adventure Arthur had planned for them.

"Is Saito joining us this time too, or does he have another meeting?" Cobb asked Arthur as they approached a golden lit restaurant, crystalline lights winking in and out of existence in a starry pattern. When she was close enough, Ariadne realized that the restaurant really was gold, and she wondered with a thrill of delight, how that worked, and made a note to try in herself sometime once she wasn't worrying about exams.

"He said he'd try, but not to save him a seat," Arthur said, pulling open the door and holding it for them before entering himself. They walked easily past the check in stand, and received polite smiles and curious glances from the people within, but they all turned back to their own tables when Arthur gave them reassuring looks.

"What, no SWAT team this time?" Eames muttered under his breath, and Arthur's scowl was reflected a hundred times over in the faces of his projections.

"Careful what you wish for," he said darkly, but there was a twinkle in his eyes that betrayed the tone.

Cobb glanced over his shoulder and surveyed the restaurant, his brows drawing down with worry briefly before settling back up in a relaxed expression.

"I keep thinking…." He muttered to himself as he sat down next to Ariadne, then he shook his head and trailed off.

"Thinking what?" she asked, and he shook his head again before answering.

"I just…it's still so weird for me; not seeing her anymore." His voice was a mix of awed relief and heavy sadness, and Ariadne regretted asking. "I worry sometimes that I've lost her completely now, that I'll forget her if I don't see her."

"I'm sorry," she said softly, understanding his fear. "I didn't mean to…."

"No, it's fine," he assured quickly, smiling briefly at her before turning quickly to the rest of the group. "What's on the menu then, Art?"

"Yeah," Eames chimed in, leaning back onto the legs of his chair. "Are we actually going to eat this time or did you just want us dressed up to look foolish?"

"Yes, we will eat this time," Arthur said through gritted teeth, and Ariadne shivered as the projections nearest them turned to glare at Eames, who seemed oblivious to the tension.

"Well?" he said, spreading his hands in expectation.

Arthur muttered a curse at him under his breath, but the projections had turned back to their own conversations once more, so Ariadne deemed it safe to relax. Well, a little bit, at least. She reached for her pocket again as Arthur stood to retrieve the food, and she winced as she realized- again- that it was a futile gesture.

"Forgot to bring it, didn't you?" Cobb whispered in her ear, and she started, turning to find him smiling knowingly at her.

"Uh, yeah," she lied, swallowing hard against the flicker of panic that had grabbed her suddenly. "Rookie mistakes, huh?"

He chuckled, but reached into his pocket and retrieved his top, placing it on the table before spinning it lightly.

"I thought you weren't supposed to…" Ariadne began, but trailed off as she noticed the top was still spinning, and hadn't clattered to the floor ten seconds ago like it was supposed to.

"It spins because we're in a dream," he explained calmly to her, picking up the top and putting it back into his pocket as Arthur approached with a tray of covered plates. "Specifically, we are in Arthur's dream, so it will spin to let me know it's not real."

"But what if you're in your own dream?" she asked, still a little shaken.

"Well that's a given, isn't it? It's your dream, so there's no need for that. But trust me, you'll be fine until you get back."

"Thanks," she murmured, and he smiled again before leaning back as Arthur placed a plate in front of him.

"Don't touch it yet!" Arthur snapped at Eames, who already had his hand on the cover's handle.

"Yes sir!" he said back, removing his hand to faux-salute, and the projections once more turned to echo Arthur's glare, one of them standing up to peer in their direction.

"Keep it up and you'll get kicked out," Ariadne warned him, smiling a thanks to Arthur as he set her plate in front of her.

"Ok, so I know last time we tried this, it didn't go so well," Arthur began, earning a snort from Eames. "But I've been practicing, and well…"

He removed the cover from his dish, and revealed a steaming plate of salmon, rice and beans, and asparagus, all beautifully arranged and glazed with a shimmering cream colored sauce. The rest of the plates proved to be stunning copies of the dish, and the smell alone was enough to make everyone ooh and ah in wonder.

"Arthur this looks incredible," Cobb said, hovering his fork over it as though unsure what to eat first.

"Nice going," Eames said, but it was genuine, and Arthur smiled proudly, sharing a wink with Ariadne.

"How does it taste?" Cobb asked, and Ariadne realized his hesitation wasn't so much about destroying a beautiful plate as it was worry about potential food poisoning. Which, to be fair, was a valid fear, considering their first attempt at dream food.

"I don't know yet," Arthur admitted, and Eames groaned while Cobb paled slightly. "But Ariadne helped me make it this time, so you can blame her if it goes south," he added hastily.

"Hey!" She snapped, but it was through a laugh, and not as threatening as she wanted it be.

"I say, you two take the first bite, then," Eames said, and Cobb nodded rapidly in agreement, though he was laughing too.

"Fine," Ariadne huffed, and she and Arthur made a cheers motion with their forks to each other before digging in. Instantly Arthur's expression soured, and Ariadne ignored Eames' smug laughter in favor of reaching for her water, swallowing several gulps before grimacing.

"Sand?" Arthur queried, taking a sip of his own drink.

"Sand," she confirmed, shaking her head in disappointment and disgust. "I really thought we got it this time."

"Yeah, well, until you do, can we please just stick to _real_ lunch dates?" Eames asked, shoving his plate as far away from him as he could get.

"Fine."

"Yeah, ok."

"Thank you." Eames said dignified, standing from his seat. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to wash up before we leave this shiny hellhole."

He headed off in the general direction of the bathrooms (down the hall and to the left), ignorant of the two projections who had risen as well, and were now following him, spurred on by Arthur's angry glare. Cobb shook his head, chuckling, and Ariadne fought for control of her own amusement as she gave him a stern look.

"Arthur," she chided, and though his expression didn't waver, the two projections broke off and sat down at different tables. She sighed in exasperation, glancing back in the direction Arthur had gone and noticing that he had disappeared beneath the gold rimmed sign that said Restrooms.

"Hey I was wondering," she said, frowning as the thought came back to her. "It occurred to me with Yusef; I mean, how exactly does that work in a dream?"

Blank looks from either side of her, and she huffed a little in exasperation.

"You know, like, how when we were in the van, and the turbulence translated into thunderstorms in the dream, right?"

"Yeah," Cobb and Arthur said slowly.

"So like, does that same concept apply to bathrooms and stuff too?"

Clarification spread across their faces simultaneously, though Arthur's expression was tinged with horror.

"We are not having this conversation."

"There goes our brilliant architect," Cobb groaned, burying his face in his hand.

"Come on," she protested with a laugh, spreading her hands innocently. "It's a valid question!"

"No." Arthur deadpanned, his face the opposite of amused. "No it is not."

"Guys," she tried, nudging Cobb's shoulder to rouse him. "I can't be the only one who wondered about this."

"Yeah, maybe Eames," Arthur countered, still unimpressed.

"Or a five year old," Cobb chimed in, raising his head to giver his own look. "That's definitely something James would think of."

"Not even James," Arthur protested. "I met your kids, remember, Cobb? James is quite the sophisticated little guy."

"Ok, ok, fine," Ariadne caved, still chuckling a little at their faces. "I'll keep my speculations to myself."

"Please do."

She laughed again, then sighed a bit as a familiar buzzing sensation filled the back of her head.

"Alright, guys, my time's up."

She stood, and the men stood with her, smiling and wishing her well as she hugged them goodbye. "Two weeks, my place. Deal?" she looked to Arthur, who nodded his agreement before fading suddenly.

"Deal," Cobb said beside her, squeezing her shoulder one last time before disappearing as well. She wondered if she had time before the restaurant collapsed to wait for Eames to tell him, but just as she made to sit back down, the second strain of buzzing reached her ears, and instead of reaching for her chair, she was reaching for her clock.


End file.
